First, some crucial info.: I had an Apple iPhone 3Gs 32G. I use it not only as my only telecommunications device, (no land line phone), but also to keep track of my personal life (health/medication for myself and others, apps. for everything from banking to cooking) and I find it CRUCIAL in my business life. (Appointments, database management, writing projects, etc.)
On Saturday, October 16, 2010 at approximately 1:30 p.m. I decided that, since the Apple iPhone iOS 4.1 had been out for several weeks, any bugs it might have initially had would surely have been resolved, and that I should go ahead and update my phone via iTunes.
I connected via U.S.B. to my computer, iTunes popped up, and I proceeded to back up and then update my iPhone. Problem: both the phone and iTunes froze just before the update was finished. Upon control-alt-delete of iTunes and a reboot of the iPhone, I tried again. At that point, I got an error message of "3014" each time I attempted to update, which is supposed to indicate not enough hard drive space or another user-side issue, but in this case it did not.
After doing some troubleshooting on my end (verifying most recent version of iTunes, uninstalling/reinstalling, checking firewall settings, checking port settings, trying different U.S.B. ports and cords,standing on my head, etc.) I realized that there was something going on that I could not address from my end. What was worse, is that the iPhone was stuck in "restore" mode, only it wasn't even an actual functioning "restore mode" because you couldn't restore from backup, even in D.F.U. mode. (D.F.U. mode is Device Firmware Upgrade mode, which requires some programming via holding down the home and power buttons of the phone for different amounts of time in different sequences.)
I got through to Apple's customer care pretty quickly, and was told that their activation/update servers were completely down, that there had been some scheduled maintenance that someone supposedly scheduled during the day instead of at night, like they were supposed to, and that until it went back up, I would not be able to do anything with my phone. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that they also told me they had no estimated time for when the servers might be back up. (They were down from Saturday morning until Sunday morning.)
I immediately had to cancel my plans for the day, as I tried repeatedly in vain to get my phone updated and working. I couldn't make or receive calls, couldn't do anything at all with the phone. It had become a paperweight.
During this time, Apple did NOT put ANY warnings on their web site or on iTunes to let people know there was a server issue. This is unfortunate, because many people update on weekends, when they aren't as busy and have an hour or two they can devote to doing so. This means that many people ended up with dead iPhones unnecessarily, and that really is a shame.
While waiting for the server to go back up, I surfed the net looking for others who had the same problem. There were thousands of posts, most by folks who, like me, had spent hours trying Apple's recommended troubleshooting steps, only many of them still didn't realize that it was an Apple issue and were pulling their hair out (many people actually claimed to be pulling their hair out) trying to figure out what was going wrong.
I shared what I had been told by Apple with as many as I could, but I'm sure there are many people who still don't know what happened. Apple should not be surprised if they start seeing many abandon iPhones and moving to Droid systems, simply because they don't understand what happened to their phone and they now perceive the iPhone to be unreliable, even though it's probably about as reliable as any other phone.
Sunday I called Apple again. This time, they said their servers were back up, yet many of us were experiencing a total freeze of both iTunes and the iPhone at exactly the same spot (2/3 of the way through the update/restore process) and were STILL unable to get our phones working. (What is the point of backing up your phone if you can't restore from backup in a situation like this?)
I made it clear to the representative I was speaking to that not being able to use my phone AT ALL for the past day and 1/2 was NOT acceptable. He understood the seriousness of losing the ability to use the phone and access the data on it, and, since my phone was still under warranty, made an appointment for me to go to the local Apple store and get a replacement phone. (One can not accomplish this at an AT&T store. It must be done at an Apple store.)
Note: Technical support runs out for the iPhone 90 days after purchase unless you purchase an extended technical support package, otherwise you have to pay for technical support after that. However, if it is an issue related to a firmware upgrade problem, that does not seem to apply and they do not require a payment to speak to technical support.
I wonder how many people hung up and didn't bother to wait to speak to anyone at hearing the recording warn them that they might have to pay for technical support on this call? This may be one of the main reasons that Apple is unaware of just how many people were affected by this issue, even though I was told they were receiving many calls.
I went to the Apple store at the appointed time, believing that I would be in and out in a few minutes with a replacement phone that I could restore from backup. (That's what I had been told.) Of course, it actually took more than an hour, because they first wanted to try to get the old phone working. (They couldn't.)
So, they went to the back to get my replacement phone, then called a supervisor back there, stayed gone a long time, and came back to tell me that they did not have any 3Gs 32G models available. I had two options: wait a week (with NO working phone!) for them to order one, or take them up on their offer to give me a new iPhone 4 instead. (Gee, can you guess which option I chose?)
I've never been wild about the ergonomics or the appearance of the iPhone 4, having been very fond of the attractively curved and comfortable models that came before it. It feels "clunky" in my hand, and takes some getting used to. That being said, I must say that the new features have really grown on me.
The dual-cameras that allow for video calling with other iPhone 4 users are really awesome. (Now you can also check to see if you have boogers hanging out of your nose without a mirror!) But, what's even more impressive, is the quality of the cameras themselves!
The iPhone 3Gs was a greatly-improved camera over previous models, but this phone has a camera that truly puts even stand-alone digital cameras and video cameras to shame. Turning the camera on, I can actually see the room through the camera more clearly and seemingly better-lit than in real life, (how is that possible???), and that's without using the built-in flash, which also doubles as a great flashlight in a pinch. (...and this thing which tells time! You'll shoot your eye out, kid!)
The display, while hard to imagine a better, more beautiful display than what Apple has already brought us in previous models, is also super-hero turbo-charged with impossibly vivid and high definition clarity. I. Am. Impressed.
Adding a case to the phone has helped somewhat with the ergonomics issues, and the slightly more narrow size makes it easier for a smaller hand to hold and operate without requiring the other hand. Just for the record though, I'd still like to see a return to the aesthetically and ergonomically-pleasing curves of previous models.
One more worm to go: when I got home and restored from backup, the data from my apps showed up in my phone as "other" in iTunes, but the apps themselves did not load.
Yes, I can re-load them, but it's a major pain for someone like me who does beta-testing for multiple app developers, (I have many jobs - survival requires diversification.), because I had over 300 apps on my phone.
That's why at 1 a.m. several days after getting the new iPhone 4, I'm still in the process of putting everything back in place. Thankfully, all of the data associated with each app. is loading into the app. once the app. is downloaded to the phone, so I guess I should be happy about that. Oh yeah, and the fact that I didn't have to extend my contract with AT&T OR pay the more than $300 with tax for the new iPhone 4 doesn't upset me at all.
:-)
Update: I'm glad I set the phone up as a "new" phone under iTunes before I restored from the backup of my old phone, because I've just learned that the original 4.1 update caused many phones to reboot after just a few minutes on a call. Apparently, you have to go to the Apple store to get a "clean" version of 4.1 - unless they've updated it on their servers. Glad they put the "clean" version on my iPhone 4 before I left. Now I know why they did it there at the store. I've had enough worms in my Apple already. One more and I'm calling it rotten!
Note to Steve Jobs: REALLY??? You're concerned about stability issues with FLASH??? REALLY??? Isn't that kind of like Osama Bin Laden being concerned about vandalism?
Yes. It's a love-hate relationship I have with Apple.
A.
1 comment:
One bad Apple can spoil the barrel...! Yeesh what a nightmare.
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